You can do lots of things with ripe, local tomatoes, including lay thick slices on buttery pastry and bake them into a tart. Tomato tarts require a simple dough, which you can make quickly in a food processor and roll right onto the baking sheet, or buy a round, thaw it, and decorate the edges as if you had made it from scratch.

One typical problem with these tarts is a soggy bottom crust, soaked with tomato juices, which no one should have. Mix some panko or other plain breadcrumbs with Dijon mustard and Parmesan, then lay them on the crust to catch any juices and keep the pastry bottom crisp. But before you slice the bright red orbs, halve them horizontally and use a fingertip to dislodge and discard the seeds. With its roasted tomatoes and melted cheese, the finished tart has some qualities of pizza, but it’s dressy enough to add a salad and turn into a fine summer lunch, or serve as a side dish with something off the grill. SHERYL JULIAN

Sheryl Julian can be reached at sheryl.julian@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @sheryljulian.